Returning to Church
- Summary of Governor Sununu’s “Stay At Home 2.0” order, from the NH Council of Churches
- Returning to Church guidelines, prepared by the Wisconsin Council of Churches
From our denominational members
- NH UCC Conference: Things To Be Considered in Resuming In Person Worship (docx)
- New England United Methodist Conference: Annual Conference in June 2020 is canceled.
Resources
- Directory of live streamed worship services
- Ministering with blood drives, food pantries and homeless services
- Understanding the CARES Act
- Guide for Christian Funerals during COVID19, prepared by the Massachusetts Council of Churches.
Resources for Online Worship and Meetings
- National Council of Churches resources for Holy Week and Easter worship
- Dave Deziel of the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire shares this 3-minute YouTube video: Personal presence on Zoom for effectiveness and engagement
- PC Mag article to help keep our services and meetings safe, How to Prevent Zoom-Bombing
- OneLicense has offered a free license through April 15, so that you can use music from their publishers while respecting the composers’ rights. See details at OneLicense.net.
- Olympia Brown Unitarian Universalist Church of Racine, Wisconsin shared this tutorial on how to use Zoom, for those new to the technology.
- Tips and Tricks for Creating Community on Zoom
Other ideas from NH churches
- Live streaming daily prayer or Bible reading and study
- Live streaming reading children’s Bible stories to families
- Online gatherings for “coffee hour” social time
- Online gatherings for “paint along” programs
- Using Jeopardy Labs to host Bible Jeopardy online
- Musicians live streaming organ voluntaries and hymn sing-alongs
Please email us at info@nhchurches.org to share the creative ministries that your congregation is undertaking! We have seen online prayer groups, Sunday School programs, children’s story times, Bible studies as well as guidance for how church members can practice their faith more deeply at home. Some church craft groups are making face masks for local hospitals. If you send us a contribution, then we will share it here!
Denominational Resources
The NH Council of Churches wants to share how our member denominations respond and equip their people with information, recommendations and links for further reading.
- American Baptist Churches USA: COVID-19 Information and Resources
- Episcopal Church of New Hampshire: COVID-19 Updates and Resources for Congregations
- Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston: Ministry Resources and Initiatives During the Pandemic of COVID-19
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, New England Synod: COVID-19 Resources
- Presbyterian Church (USA), Northern New England Presbytery: COVID-19 Resources
- Quaker, New England Yearly Meeting: Updates and Resources During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- United Church of Christ, New Hampshire Conference: Staying Safe in the Midst of Contagious Disease
- United Methodist Church, New England Conference: Addressing Coronavirus
- Unitarian Universalist Association: Updated Recommendations for Your Congregation’s Response to COVID-19
Media and Online Posts
- Union Leader, Leading the flock through a Holy Week like no other
- Concord Monitor, Churches connect for Holy Week during time of pandemic
- Union Leader, ‘Zoombombing’ hits business meetings, classroom sessions
- NH Council of Churches, Video Recording of March 23 seminar with Dr. Nicholas Christakis
- Dr. Nicholas Christakis, Compassion in the time of coronavirus
- Rev. David Grishaw-Jones, Foster’s Daily Democrat, Keep your hearts open
- Kathleen Wooten, QuakerKathleen.org, Being the church online
- NHPR, N.H. Houses Of Worship Rethink Roles, As Routines Upended by COVID-19
- Concord Monitor, Churches suspend services amid outbreak
- Eagle Tribune (North Andover, MA), Preaching from the rooftop: Plaistow church members practice social distancing